The work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not only a dramatic act of kindness, it's a dramatic act of philanthropy. Gates, as part of The Giving Pledge program created by Gates and Warren Buffett, has publicly promised to give away at least half of his wealth during his lifetime. By 2011, Bill and Melinda had already given $28 billion to the foundation (more than one-third of their wealth) [source: Nichols].

The foundation partners with and grants money to organizations solving global development issues such as poverty and hunger, global health issues such as preventative vaccines, groundbreaking advancements in health care solutions (a better condom, anyone?), as well as access to affordable and reliable drugs. The foundation, for example, granted $112 million to help save at-risk newborn lives through Save the Children, and $456 million on the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) [source: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation].